In the past, it has been known to utilize feathers for fletching arrows. This has usually required fabricating techniques which are time consuming inasmuch as feathers typically required multiple hand operations including trimming to size, aligning and fastening to the shaft of an arrow. As is known, arrow fletching by this process is a labor intensive, expensive proposition.
In another respect, there has been no practical manner for repairing arrows with damaged fletching. The fact is that it is difficult, if not impossible, to find anyone with the apparatus and/or expertise to refletch arrows at a reasonable price. As a result, many arrows with damaged fletches must simply be discarded by archers.
In order to remedy these deficiencies, it has been proposed to utilize plastic unitary fletching in U.S. Pat. No. 2,887,319. This involves the concept of having vanes connected to a cylindrical body which slips over the arrow shaft, but with a tight fit so the fletching stays in place after it is initially positioned. With this approach, it has been found that the fletching can be damaged due to its light weight as it is pulled onto the shaft.
In an attempt to successfully overcome the problems in U.S. Pat. No. 2,887,319, it has been proposed to provide the fletching with two annular forms. These annular forms are utilized as gripping means, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,307, for pulling the fletching onto the arrow shaft following which they are removed once the fletching is in place. Alternatively, this patent proposes that the fletching be molded directly onto the arrow shaft in connection with OEM production.
Still additional prior art dealing with arrows in general, and fletching in particular, include the disclosures in British Patent 620,536 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,614,947; 4,111,424; and 4,858,588.
Despite these various attempts to advance the art, there has been a continuing need for still further improvements. It would be desirable, for instance, to be able to injection mold fletching in the form of a slidable stabilizer which would be capable of avoiding bending even in the presence of launch forces and/or cross winds while accommodating exact pitch and indexing from one stabilizer to the next to provide greater accuracy along with an increased effective kill range. Also, there would be a significant advantage to maintaining the fletching forwardly of the riser of a bow during launch so as to avoid interference with launch and/or damage to the fletching. It would also be desirable to provide a stabilizer which can be stored and transported without damaging the vanes where the vanes would be capable of retarding blow through while allowing any shaft to be quickly retrofitted in the field. Still additionally, the art would benefit from a launcher that would permit the bow to be rotated to any position during launch while continuing to grip the arrow.
In addition, the art would benefit if fletching could temporarily be removed for the purpose of checking arrow shafts for straightness by any means such as rolling the arrow shaft on a flat surface. Still further, the art would benefit if the fletching could be provided in a number of different design configurations and could be used with most compound bows, recurve bows, and cross bows.
As for other attributes of importance, the fletching should be capable of withstanding the forces that are typically encountered. It should also be the case that the fletching stays in place throughout flight and after target impact, and it should be such as to eliminate the need for glue and fletching jigs. Finally, the fletching should reduce arrow manufacturing time and expense and, ideally, provide for a more balanced flight.
The present invention is directed to overcoming the foregoing problems and achieving the recited objectives.